PORT HURON TOWNSHIP, MI — Nearly seven years after the death of a 3-year-old boy in his Michigan home, authorities have charged a mother and a man in connection with the fatal incident that has only recently seen critical developments. Charged with first-degree murder, 28-year-old Amanda Maison and 31-year-old Maurice Houle, who were romantically linked at the time of the boy’s death, face allegations that they were complicit in a plot that culminated in the young child’s violent death.
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office released information indicating that the arrests came following new insights into the February 18, 2018, death of Matthew Maison, found dead in his bed at the family’s residence in Port Huron Township. The update in the investigation, however, remains unspecified in the details that led to the breaking point in the case.
During the arraignment on Monday, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Josh Sparling presented a grim picture of the abuse Matthew suffered under the care of both Maison and Houle. He accused the couple of devising a misleading narrative to explain the injuries Matthew had sustained. Sparling further claimed that blame was placed by each defendant on the other.
Detailed accounts of abuse were laid out, including allegations that Matthew was forced into severe punitive measures such as kneeling for extended periods with his head against a wall, and being confined in a room without food. One particularly harrowing account alleged that Houle had suffocated Matthew with a pillow, masquerading the act as play.
Adding to the grisly narrative, Sparling suggested that the accused might have had the motive of eliminating Matthew to make space for a potential future child of their own. The prosecution believes that the young boy was subjected to beatings and suffocation, with his death officially ruled a homicide.
The autopsy findings discussed by St. Clair County Medical Examiner Daniel Spitz indicated that the cause of death was blunt traumatic injuries compounded by features of asphyxiation, a clear sign of deliberate harm.
This case uncomfortably echoes another family tragedy involving Amanda Maison’s brother, Andrew Maison, and his wife, Hilery Maison. Both are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murder of Andrew’s 5-year-old daughter and the abuse of another daughter.
In a development that complicates the timeline of evidence gathering, a 2020 Freedom of Information Act request for related 911 call recordings was denied. The county’s dispatch system had automatically deleted the recordings, leaving gaps in the procedural narrative.
The recent arraignment marks a pivotal moment in legal proceedings, one that has been long anticipated by those seeking justice for Matthew. As the community grapples with the gravity of these accusations, the unfolding court case promises to slowly piece together the events of that tragic day in 2018, offering some resolution to a heartbreakingly prolonged saga.